Nasal polyps are not -cancer -like growths that develop in the nose or in your sinuses. Although nasal polyps are usually painless, they can produce uncomfortable symptoms such as pressure and fullness in the nose and face, a stuffy nose with thick and discolored drainage, breathing problems and a loss of odor and taste.
Everyone can get nasal polyps, although they occur more often in middle age. They cannot be cured, but there are treatments available to help manage the symptoms. We have contacted Andrew Lane, MDDirector of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center and of the distribution of rhinology and sinus surgery to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for more information.
What is the purpose of treatment for nasal polyps?
The purpose of the treatment is to help patients manage and improve symptoms. This can be done by reducing or eliminating the polyps and then preventing their repetition or regrowth.
Read: nasal polyps 101 >>
What are the different types of treatments for nasal polyps and what benefits do they offer?
Corticosteroids, endoscopic sinus surgery and biological medicines are treatments for nasal polyps.
- Corticosteroids Take out systemic steroids (steroids that you put in your body), such as oral prednisone or injections, and current steroids that are applied to the nose, such as sprays or saline coils. Corticosteroids can shrink nasal polyps and improve nasal polyp symptoms.
- Endoscopic sinus surgery Removes nasal polyps and opens the sinuses on a large scale and helps relieve the symptoms. After surgery, patients can better use nasal floors and sprays for maintenance, because those medicines can now enter the deleted sinuses.
- Biologics are the latest option for treatment. They are not chemicals, but medicines made in breeding by living cells. They also have a longer history as an effective asthma treatment, making them a good choice for patients with nasal polyp who also have asthma. Biologics are injected under the skin once or twice a month and circulate through the body and touch each part of the sinuses.
Read: Biologics, Biosimilars and Generics: What is the difference? >>
Which treatments work best to minimize the chance of recurrence?
The best treatment for minimizing repetition depends on the severity of the symptoms of a patient. But corticosteroidsAre the first and most important option for many patients because they can reduce the polyps and improve the symptoms.
Systemic steroids offer quickly relief, but the disadvantage is that there are side effects in the longer term that are common constant use of steroids. These drugs can help patients feel better for a while, but nasal polyp symptoms can return within a few months, weeks or even days after the medication has stopped. Sprays and rinses do not have the same side effects as systemic steroids and can be used indefinitely, but they are less effective because of the application method. Unless your sinuses are surgically open, the medicine may not be sufficiently in the affected areas to make an impact.
With surgery, most patients who undergo the procedure and nasal floors and sprays for maintenance minimize the risk of recurrence – which occurs in 40% of patients. About 15% of patients may need additional procedures to remove polyps that grow back. These procedures include making extra large sinus openings to maximize the ability of rinses to come to difficult to reach areas where the polyps return.
How do you determine which treatments patients offer?
In most cases, medication is first offered, withSurgery usually reserved for people who do not find relief of medical therapy. However, the operation can be the first choice for patients who cannot use systemic corticosteroids. In patients with polyps who are the result of an abnormal reaction to fungus, sometimes fungal material is trapped in the sinuses that must be surgically removed for patients to feel better.
If medication and surgery do not offer relief, or if other disorders make patients poor candidates for surgery, biological medicines are offered. Biologics are approved for use as an add-on treatment for a steroid spray or coil, so patients must stay on current therapies while using biologics.
Can people with nasal polyps expect to get full control over their polyps with treatment?
Keeping track of your treatment routine is the key to help prevent existing nasal polyps from growing or preventing new nasal polyps from developing.
Staying in accordance with rinses and sprays in particular after the operation is important to prevent the repetition of the symptoms. If patients are vigilant with the use of rinses or sprays, it can help prevent polyps from growing or returning when they have been removed or shrunk with systemic steroids.
Even if you think you are doing well, polyp growth can occur before the symptoms appear, so you must ensure that you retain the routine that works and regularly checks from a Otolaryngologist – often called an ear, nose and throat specialist.
This educational source is made with support fromMlaxosmithkline, Sanofi and Regeneron.
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